Abandoned | |
---|---|
Directed by | Joseph M. Newman (as Joe Newman) |
Written by | Irwin Gielgud William Bowers (additional dialogue) |
Produced by | Jerry Bresler |
Starring | Dennis O'Keefe Gale Storm Jeff Chandler |
Cinematography | William H. Daniels |
Edited by | Edward Curtiss |
Music by | Walter Scharf (uncredited) |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Abandoned is a 1949 American crime film noir starring Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm and Jeff Chandler. [2] [3]
Directed by Joseph M. Newman, it is also known as Abandoned Women and Not Wanted. [4]
After her sister goes missing in Los Angeles, a woman tries to find information about the disappearance at city hall. The police are not helpful, but she does get support from a local crime reporter. As the two investigate the disappearance together, they are led to a shady detective and a black-market baby ring.
The film uses a semi-documentary style of presentation that was popular at the time. It was based on an original story by Irwin Gielgud commissioned by producer Jerry Bresler. [5] Director Joseph M. Newman and Bresler had previously worked together in the shorts department at MGM. [6] Ann Blyth was originally announced for the female lead. [7]
It was shot on the Universal backlot and on location in Los Angeles. [8]
Jeff Chandler made the film before Broken Arrow . However, after being cast in that film, he was given star billing for Abandoned. [9]
A.H. Weiler's New York Times review was mixed: "But despite the advertisements, the newcomer is far from being 'the year's most sensational picture.' Sensational is hardly the word, since it is, in the main, a briskly paced thriller that merely indicates an insidious evil and then proceeds along conventional melodramatic lines to the climactic smashing of a baby adoption ring. As such it is a routine cops-and-mobsters number…..Gale Storm is natural and engaging as the harried young lady who manages to rescue her niece, if not her sister. However, Dennis O'Keefe, as the brash, fearless and charming newspaper man and her romantic partner seems closer to fiction than fact. Jeff Chandler turns in a competent characterization as the D.A., as do…Rambeau, Kuluva, Burr, and…Randall." [10]
This was Chandler's first film for Universal under a long term contract, and the positive response to his performance began his graduation into leading roles. [11]
Jeff Chandler was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in Broken Arrow (1950), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was one of Universal Pictures' more popular male stars of the 1950s. His other credits include Sword in the Desert (1948), Deported (1950), Female on the Beach (1955), and Away All Boats (1956). In addition to his acting in film, he was known for his role in the radio program Our Miss Brooks, as Phillip Boynton, her fellow teacher and clueless object of affection, and for his musical recordings.
Ann Marie Blyth is an American retired actress and singer. For her performance as Veda in the 1945 Michael Curtiz film Mildred Pierce, Blyth was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, and became the earliest living acting Academy Award nominee upon the death of Angela Lansbury in 2022.
Turhan Bey was an Austrian-born actor of Turkish and Czech-Jewish origins. Active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953, he was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans. After his return to Austria, he pursued careers as a photographer and stage director. Returning to Hollywood after a 40-year hiatus, he made several guest appearances in 1990s television series including SeaQuest DSV, Murder, She Wrote and Babylon 5 as well as a number of films. After retiring, he appeared in a number of documentaries, including a German-language documentary on his life.
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